In schools today, the pressure on children to do well is so great that it is beginning to affect parents as well. It is estimated that parents spend an average of 6 hours a week on helping their children with homework.

You don¡¦t have to be a subject specialist to help your child with homework but it might help! What you can do as a parent is to mainly help them organise their homework. Nowadays parents are to be given more advice from the government on how best to help their children with their homework. There is a leaflet available called "It All Adds Up", and this gives tips on what parents can do to help their children with Numeracy and help them with any difficulties in this area.

Do:

• Organise their homework session properly - make sure they have had something to eat before they settle down to their homework. The meal and the break will do them a world of good ¡V they will need some rest after coming back from school.
• Make sure that homework is restricted to the recommended time for the age group. You have to take into account that your child has already had a full day at school and is probably physically and mentally tired.
• Do plan a homework timetable. This can have the different days of the week along with subjects (this obviously can be flexible as there will be different subjects that they will need to study depending on what homework they have).
• The homework timetable is much more appealing if it looks physically attractive. For younger kids, use their favourite theme characters or pop idols for the older children.
• If they have no homework, it¡¦s not a bad idea to make them do a bit of revision ¡V even if it¡¦s just 20 minutes ¡V however if they have a stretch of days without any homework (unlikely) give them a day off from this!
• Do make the homework fun and not a chore. If they¡¦re studying English for instance, use the Internet for additional resource material. You can come across games that can make both homework and revision much more fun than just reading from a textbook.
• Do make the homework environment fun and comfortable. Make sure there are no distractions like TV sets / games consoles etc. on in the background. Also try to make their study environment both fun and physically comfortable.
• Do encourage and praise your child when they are doing their homework. All children progress at different levels and different speeds. Two children of the same age could have completely different abilities.
• Approaching exam time especially, kids are apprehensive and nervous about learning stuff and worried about making fools of themselves. As a parent, you can encourage your child to learn new things and develop their skills. Encourage them to go online and look at revision sites and relevant material on the internet (supervised by an adult).

• Don¡¦t do your children¡¦s homework for them. You might think you are helping them but you are actually putting them at a disadvantage. They will become dependent on you to a large extent. It also doesn¡¦t help teachers gauge what areas the child needs to develop.
• Don¡¦t punish your child if they make mistakes with their homework ¡V everyone makes mistakes and trial and error is often the best way to learn.
• Don¡¦t underestimate the importance of homework. If you¡¦ve had a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is to work some more - but please remember that children are asked to do homework for a reason.

So, in conclusion, please support your child¡¦s homework needs but make sure they have a balance of fun and activities as well. All homework and no play can make Jack a dull boy!